Choosing to become a social worker: motives, incentives, concerns and disincentives

‘Lost in transition?’ – Newly educated social workers’ reflections on their first months in practice

“…The 'wish to help others' emerged as a strong theme in the first wave of data that examined participants' motives for choosing social work education (Tham & Lynch, 2014). This finding resonates with previous studies of motives for studying social work (Christie & Kruk, 1998;Weiss, 2005). It can be understood as important for these social workers to receive positive feedback about their work as this was connected to their assessment of their own work achievements.…”

‘Life is about choices, but external factors often affect outcomes’: social work students’ reasoning about the origins of social problems

“…Whatever the expressed primary motivation, like other research on student motivations (e.g. Christie and Kruk 1998;Gilligan 2007;Stevens et al 2012), we found that almost all responses included clear statements about a desire to help others to achieve their potential or to enable people to improve their lives in some way.…”

Studying to Become a Social Worker: Examining the Motivations Of, and Challenges Facing, Students at an Open Distance-Learning University

“…The congruence or fit between the nature of social work and the self-structure of the participants; their passion for helping others; and becoming a social worker as the realisation of goal or dream were found to be the motives amongst the participants attracting them to enrol for studies in social work (Christie & Kruk, 1998;Waterman, 2002). The enjoyment of what they were studying and current achievements experienced while studying social work provided the impetus and motivation necessary to continue and to complete (or work towards the completion of) their studies (Boylston & Blair, 2006:131;Peers, 2003:171).…”